Stop us if you’ve heard this one. Federal prosecutors no longer need Apple’s assistance in unlocking an iPhone in a Brooklyn drug case, as investigators have found a way to do so themselves. It’s the second major case recently where the government has attempted to demand Apple’s help but, before a judge granted the government’s request, the Justice Department managed to unlock the iPhone in question. . . .

Yesterday, I reviewed an app called Codification, which uses for its icon the section symbol — §. That is certainly a symbol that lawyers need to type a lot, but it isn’t immediately apparent how to do so on an iPhone or iPad. . .

You can type many additional characters using the iPhone and iPad keyboard by holding down on a letter. I see that I haven’t posted a full list of those shortcuts since 2010, back when iPhone J.D. had far fewer readers, so I thought it might be useful to post the list again, which is largely still the same in iOS 8 . . . .

So you’ve grown tired of Apple’s walled garden of apps and the iron grip it maintains over the iOS platform. Well, the freedom of Android welcomes you with open arms, but don’t forget to bring your data along for the ride!

Apple doesn’t make it particularly easy to move your data from iOS to Android—it’s more interested in moving people in the other direction. Still, with just a few tools and some patience, you can be up and running on Android without missing a beat. . . .

So many great ideas and useful apps, even if you are not tech savvy. This is stuff you can, and should, use right now. -CCE

One of the most fun and useful things I’ve been doing lately is automating small processes I do all the time. It took me a while to work up the courage to dive into automation, as it always seemed like a really difficult, technical thing to do, which should be left to programmers.

Luckily, there are lots of tools being created lately to make automation easier for those of us without a solid understanding of how our computers really work. . . .

The latest and greatest from Jeff Richardson. Good discussion on ways to make text messages look good at trial. New iPhone apps. The sale on the password manager app is too good to pass up. I particularly like the idea of using the Apple Watch for map directions. As always, Mr. Richardson shares the good stuff. -CCE

As pointed out in this article, more courts require e-filing and are using tablets and other technology to read what you file. If you do not use technology, then you do not know how your document appears on the screen. It is quite different than reading something on a printed page.

So what to do? Keep writing as you always have and ignore changes brought about by technology or adjust? -CCE

A. Introduction

In a prior post I explored how the transformation of case law to linked electronic data undercut Brian Garner’s longstanding argument that judges should place their citations in footnotes. As that post promised, I’ll now turn to Garner’s position as it applies to writing that lawyers prepare for judicial readers. . . .

You might have heard that folks here in Oklahoma and other states are having a spot of trouble with the weather. If it is not hail or tornados, it’s flooding.

Our weather channels are doing a great job, but I have not found my current weather app that useful. This one looks as if it might do the job. -CCE

There are a ridiculous number of iPhone apps that can tell you the weather. I have purchased a whole bunch of them, partly because weather apps are inherently useful, but also because whenever I find one with an interface or a feature that I like, it is often not long before another one comes along that seems like it might be better. But for quite a while now, I’ve stuck with just one Weather app on the home screen of my iPhone: Weather Line, which is currently on sale for only $1.99. Here’s why this has been my favorite weather app, and perhaps it will appeal to you as well. . . .

Apple’s operating system’s menu bar is truly old school; it’s been around for as long as there have been Macintoshes. The menu bar is extensible, though some users may not realize just how much, so we’ll show you the many ways you can add functionality to it.

If you have ever heard anyone use the phrase ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’ then they could have been very well talking about Apple’s menu bar.

* * *

The menu bar can be extended with a wide array of clickable icons for quick access to system preferences.

Today, the menu bar lets you add all kinds of extra functionality to it. You can easily check your Mac’s energy status (particularly helpful if you’re using a laptop), or you can start Time Machine backups, or log into another account with fast user switching, etc.

In fact, many of the System Preferences have icons you can add, and many applications will also use the menu bar so users have convenient access to features and functions.

In this article, we’re going to show and talk about all the different things you can add to the menu bar using only what you’ll find in the system preferences. This includes not only the things we’ve already mentioned, but all the other preference menu bar items we could find. . . .

This past Saturday morning [April 18, 2015] at ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago, I teamed up with Dallas attorney Tom Mighell, Ohio attorney Joe Bahgat and Florida legal tech consultant Adriana Linares to present the 2015 installment of 60 iOS Apps in 60 Minutes. Lots of useful and fun apps were discussed during the session, and the enthusiasm from the standing-room-only crowd was fantastic. I know that the session was fast-paced, so for those of you who attended and who may have missed an app or two, and for those of you who could not make it to ABA TECHSHOW 2015 this year, here is a list of the apps that we discussed. . . .

This index allows you to browse through the more significant posts on iPhone J.D. since I started the website on November 17, 2008, including reviews of iPhone and iPad apps and accessories plus other significant posts. Also, remember that there is a helpful search box at the top right of every page if you are trying to find something specific. . . .

If there are rules for or against using any type of technology in a courtroom, you will normally find the court’s preference in its local rules. Courts don’t write local rules just for fun. They mean it when they say they don’t like something. If your court clearly states in its local rules that certain types of technology are not tolerated, don’t temp fate by assuming that you will be the exception.

Please note the comments at the end of the article. There is more valuable information about other court rules. -CCE

There are countless ways that an iPhone and iPad can be useful to an attorney while in court — whether you are at counsel table or just monitoring proceedings from the cheap seats in back. I often use my iPhone to look up a statute, check my calendar, get some information from an email, or remind myself of the name of another attorney in the courtroom. I often use my iPad to look at a case cited by an opponent, review the key part of an exhibit or transcript, or take notes. But you cannot do any of this unless the court lets you use electronic devices in the courtroom. I remember a time many years ago when the Eastern District of Louisiana did not allow any cell phones, even if turned off, and if my Palm Treo was still in my pocket, I had to walk back to my office, a few blocks away, and leave it there. Many courts are now more lenient, but attorneys should not just assume that it is okay to plan to use an iPhone and iPad in court. Instead, it is wise to first determine if there is an applicable court rule on the issue.

I write about this today because Ray Ward, an appellate attorney at my law firm, has a case that is soon set for oral argument before the U.S. Fifth Circuit, and in connection with that case, yesterday he received a notice from the Fifth Circuit of a new policy on electronic devices in the courtroom. Ray wrote about the notice (and attached a copy) in this post on his Louisiana Civil Appeals blog. In short, you can now have an iPhone or iPad in the courtroom, but it must be turned off unless you are presenting argument or at counsel table. And even then, you cannot take pictures or video, nor can you use social media. . . .

Most litigators are good researchers. Or they should be. We could all use a little help, however, so I’m presenting here a collection of Mac/iOS-based resources I’d suggest to other litigators. Each is accompanied by a link so you can explore further on your own.

One caution: Websites, blogs, etc. on the Internet frequently ‘die’ or fail to be updated. When you follow these links, or conduct your own research on a search engine, try to limit your searches within the last one or two years. This is not to say that older resources aren’t useful or valuable—sometimes they are even better than the newer ones. But, particularly in the realm of technology, you need to use the most up-to-date resources possible.

First Stop: iTunes

Before I present my list, I should note that when I need to explore and find resources on any topic, I tend to start with Apple’s iTunes application (apple.com/itunes). iTunes, which can be used both on Macs and on Windows machines, is a store of free and paid items that can be quite useful. So, first off, I open iTunes on my computer (or iPad, although usually for this I’m sitting with my laptop or desktop Mac). In all the cases discussed below, I sometimes put the term ‘law, ‘constitution,’ ‘justice,’ ‘trial,’ and such in the search box to narrow the field. Skipping over the entertainment choices (Music, Movies, TV Shows), I head straight for iTunes U.

iTunes U is a collection of presentations, seminars, classes, and the like from universities and colleges, associations, and galleries all over the world—even from schools in the K-12 range. There are all sorts of categories, and one of them is ‘Law & Politics,’ with topics such as ‘Legal Writing,’ ‘Constitutional Law,’ etc. There’s a wealth of information there. It’s free (really!) and downloadable and playable on your iPad, iPhone, iPod, or computer.

After that, still searching in iTunes, I head to Podcasts. As with iTunes U, there are all sorts of providers of podcasts on a variety of topics—and they’re free. Not all are worth listening to, and there’s no similar topic breakdown, but there are podcasts on ‘Government & Organizations,’ ‘Business,; and, of course, ‘Technology’; you can search all topics if you want to see if there’s something more focused on trials and litigation.

There is also, of course, iTune’s App Store. There are loads of categories, and any number might include a relevant and helpful application for your iDevice related to trials and litigation. On my iPad are apps for the following general topics: reading (Kindle, Zinio, iBooks, Instapaper), messaging (Messages, Skype, Google Voice), access/storage (Files Pro, CrashPlan, USB Disk), writing (Pages, Penultimate, Notability), scanning (JotNotPro, AT&T Code Scanner, RedLaser), signing documents (SignEasy, SignNow, DocuSign), printing (Cloud Printer, Printer Pro), conversion (myConvert, Units, Ruler Plus, iHandy Level), and law (Fastcase, FedCtRecords, LawBox, Iowa Lawyer magazine). It seems everyone has an app these days, which is good, and they’re either free or inexpensive enough to test. And there are apps that follow the whole topic of applications and scout out other apps to try for a day or two, which is good to know.

Finally, the Books topic on iTunes includes many free books, mostly those long copyright-free, but a few that are recent and especially helpful (iPad at Work, business and finance topics, etc.). There are both e-books (readable on iOS devices or computers using iBooks) and some audiobooks (which tend to cost between $10 and $20, but that might be worth it for a long trip).

Now for That List

Over the years I’ve collected a list of numerous websites, blogs, and online articles that might provide helpful information for lawyers involved in trial work, particularly related to working with Macs and iOS devices. Here are the ones I’ve found most useful: . . . .

The app consists of three sections — Legal Writing Tips, Legal Writing Checklist and Additional Resources — all aimed at providing advice and guidance on writing, editing and proofreading a legal document.

The first section, Legal Writing Tips, is simply that — a collection of tips, no doubt gleaned from Vinson’s own experience teaching legal writing. Each tip occupies its own screen, with a heading such as ‘Finding the Time to Write,’ ‘Be Consistent’ and ‘One Point at a Time,’ followed by a paragraph that elaborates on the point. For example, under the heading, ‘Writing Efficiently,’ the app offers this tip:

Do you feel that it is taking a long time to draft a document? Good writing takes time but often what slows writers down is trying to edit while you write. Don’t edit/revise while you write or stop to think of the perfect word. Write quickly and then once you have completed a draft, edit slowly. If you have to, cover the screen while you type so you can fight the urge to edit while you write.

The second part of the app consists of four legal writing checklists. They cover the initial stages of writing, revising, editing and proofreading. For example, the checklist for the initial stages of writing lists items such as, ‘What is the purpose of the document?’, ‘What relief do you want from the court?’ and ‘Why is your client entitled to this relief?’ As you satisfy yourself that you have covered each element, touch that element in the app to check it off.

As usual, Mr.Richardson has shared a variety of tips and apps for iPhones and iPads well worth noting. I must find time to listen to more podcasts. There is so much great info there, and I’m missing it! -CCE

CI’ve long been a fan of using a stylus to take handwritten notes on the iPad. There are a lot of nice styluses on the market, and I’ve tried a ton of them, but in my opinion there is still no one perfect stylus because the iPad just isn’t designed to detect something smaller than a fingertip. Of course, Apple could change this, an there are now rumors that Apple might be creating a stylus for the iPad. Serenity Caldwell of iMore explains why this would make sense, and I would also love to see a stylus designed by Apple to work well with an iPad. And now, the other news of note from this week:
• If you listen to podcasts, I strongly encourage you to check out Overcast, a fantastic app that I use every day. California attorney David Sparks explains why he likes the app.
• New York attorney and iPhone J.D. reader David Rosen asked me to share that he started a new blog on New York civil procedure called Arguments & Demonstrations. In his latest post, we learn that, according to a recent New York opinion, chimps are not people with legal rights. Those damn dirty apes!
• CarPlay is a technology that is just starting to be included in new cars. In theory, it should be the best way to connect your iPhone to your car. In practice, the technology is still pretty new and rough around the edges. Jason Snell of Six Colors explains how it works, and also what doesn’t yet work.
• One of the more sophisticated features of iOS 8 is that apps can include action extensions, so that you can use features of one app from within another app. Allyson Kazmucha of iMore rounds of 11 good examples of action extensions on the iPhone.
• Rene Ritchie of iMore has some great tips for using Safari on an iPhone.
• And finally, what is a device that you use every day and every night? No, not your iPhone, I’m talking about your toothbrush. But don’t you wish that you could get those two critical devices to talk to each other? If that has been keeping you up at night, then you’ll want to learn about the Oral-B Electric Toothbrush with Bluetooth Connectivity, a toothbrush that pairs with your iPhone to make sure that you brush your teeth long enough and in the right way. You can get it on Amazon for only $125. Here is a video from Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal explaining why the Bluetooth in your iPhone and the white teeth in your mouth might work well together: [See post for video.-CCE.]

This is the fourth in a series revisiting Ball in Your Court columns and posts from the primordial past of e-discovery–updating and critiquing in places, and hopefully restarting a few conversations. As always, your comments are gratefully solicited.

Give Away Your Computer

[Originally published in Law Technology News, July 2005]

With the price of powerful computer systems at historic lows, who isn’t tempted to upgrade? But, what do you do with a system you’ve been using if it’s less than four or five-years old and still has some life left in it? Pass it on to a friend or family member or donate it to a school or civic organization and you’re ethically obliged to safeguard client data on the hard drive. Plus, you’ll want to protect your personal data from identity thieves and snoopers. Hopefully you already know that deleting confidential files and even formatting the drive does little to erase your private information—it’s like tearing out the table of contents but leaving the rest of the book. How do you be a Good Samaritan without jeopardizing client confidences and personal privacy? . . . .

If you have decided you need to get serious about client data protection, you will need to consider encrypting both your data and your communications. We have previously covered how to encrypt your data and will focus here on how to encrypt your email communication.

What Is Encryption?

Simply by using the Internet, you are probably using some sort of encryption scheme during some activities, whether you know it or not.

Encryption is simply the act of turning your data into unreadable gibberish. If your data is intercepted or hacked, the thief now has nothing but a pile of garbage.

End-to-end encryption is a must for transferring sensitive data across the internet. In end-to-end encryption, your data is encrypted while it travels towards your intended location and the same encryption occurs on the reverse trip. Your bank (hopefully) uses end-to-end encryption. Your practice management software (hopefully) uses end-to-end encryption if it stores and syncs data remotely. This sort of encryption is done for you without any effort on your part, as it is just a standard feature of the infrastructure you are using to bank or update client data or similar activities.

Why Do You Need to Care?

A few years ago, the ABA issued a formal ethics opinion stating that if there is a significant risk that a third party might gain access to the email, attorneys have to warn clients about that risk.

This poses a problem, because unlike your bank and practice management software, email is usually unencrypted. This is true whether you are using a desktop client or a web-based email like GMail. . . .

Over the past six years, I’ve written over 1,200 posts on iPhone J.D., including reviews of over 300 apps, reviews of every major iOS device released by Apple (from the iPhone 3GS to the new iPhone 6 and all models of the iPad) and reviews of over 300 accessories. I’ve also tried to provide lots of tips and tricks for getting the most out of your iPhone and iPad, and discussed all of the tech news that I think that you might want to know about if you use an iPhone or iPad.

Through the years, I’ve gotten tons of great feedback from iPhone J.D. readers, ranging from emails to over 2,500 comments on the site, and I’ve been honored to share guests posts by attorneys from around the world who use iPhones and iPads in their law practice. Site traffic has grown steadily every year, and in just a few days, one of you is going to load iPhone J.D. and it will be the 5 millionth page view since the site launched.

Popular posts this year. It’s a tradition on iPhone J.D.’s anniversary (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) to identify the most popular posts from the prior 12 months. Perhaps it reveals something about the topics that iPhone and iPad owners have been thinking about lately. Here are the ten most viewed posts published in the last year . . . .

In recent weeks, Verizon and AT&T have been caught up in a privacy firestorm over their use of so-called ‘permacookies,’ a method of tracking what their users do while browsing the Web with the intent of sharing that data with advertisers. Verizon’s permacookie program lives on, but AT&T has ceased the practice, ProPublica reported on Friday.

At least for now.

AT&T tells ProPublica that its use of permacookies was ‘part of a test,’ which has since wrapped up, but the company says that it ‘may still launch a program to sell data collected by its tracking number.’ For its part, AT&T says that it will allow customers to opt out of the program if—or when—it decides to use permacookies for advertising purposes.

The story behind the story: Permacookies aren’t cookies in the traditional sense: Instead, they’re unique identifiers appended to website addresses you type in on your device that let carriers see what kinds of sites you visit.

Permacookies exist for the same reason traditional tracking cookies exist—so advertisers can see what sorts of things you might be interested and serve up related ads in the hopes that you’ll click on them. But unlike regular tracking cookies, which you can easily delete from your browser or block entirely, there’s no way of removing or blocking permacookies since they’re handled entirely by the carrier. . . .

“No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself….”

The Supreme Court has stated that the Fifth Amendment only covers “testimonial” evidence that results from compelled communicative acts, i.e., acts which disclose the content of one’s mind. Therefore, the Fifth Amendment does not cover a suspect’s act of appearing in a lineup or giving a blood sample to determine whether there are drugs in his system. The Fifth Amendment also does not cover the act of completing a handwriting exemplar. Imagine that the police find an alleged confession note written by the defendant. The prosecution can force the defendant to complete a handwriting exemplar in which the defendant writes a pre-printed paragraph in his handwriting so that a handwriting expert can compare the exemplar and the confession note. All of these and similar acts are not communicative because they are nontestimonial in that they do not force the defendant to disclose the contents of his mind.

What about if the defendant has encrypted files on his computer? Can the prosecution force the defendant to decrypt them? Some courts have said no. Other courts have said yes.

Can the prosecution force a defendant to supply his fingerprint to use for the TouchID on his iPhone? For the last year, I’ve used this article to teach my students that a judge could likely order a defendant to supply his fingerprint to unlock his iPhone. Recently, this possibility has become a reality.

[A] judge has ruled that you can be forced to relinquish your fingerprint to investigators seeking access to your device. The reason, says the judge, is that the fingerprint isn’t knowledge like a password, but is instead a physical object of sorts, like a key or a DNA sample.

The ruling was made recently by Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Steven Frucci, and was the result of a case against EMS captain David Baust, who was accused of attempted murder. The case’s prosecutors wanted access to Baust’s phone, believing that it might have a video of the alleged crime, but the defendant’s lawyer argued against this.

[I]t’s unclear how the ruling will impact Baust’s case. If his phone is protected by Touch ID, prosecutors could access it using Frucci’s ruling. If the phone is protected by a passcode or both a passcode and Touch ID, they can’t . . . .

One workaround to this issue could be to just turn off your phone if cops approach. In that case, you’d have to enter your four-digit pin when you turn it back on, even if you use Touch ID. . . .

App of the Week: 1Password – Login to Apps and Sites with Your Thumb, by Tim Baran, Legal Productivity Blog

Everyone should be using a password manager. It provides a strong, unique password for each online account and keeps them all in a secure, encrypted, yet quickly accessible place. Our favorite, 1Password, just got even better.

Login to Apps – Use 1Password to log into a growing list of your favorite apps and even update your passwords—all with just a tap!

Login to sites in Safari browser on your iPhone – You can now fill 1Password Logins directly within Safari.

Unlock with your thumb – After unlocking with your Master Password, get back into your vault in 1Password, Safari, and your favorite apps with just your thumb on devices with Touch ID. Check Settings > Security to learn how this works and pick your auto-lock time.

iPads are very popular, but not all attorneys use them to their full potential. This app sounds great. I would like to hear more from those who use it. -CCE

[C]aseManager was created by New York civil rights attorney John Upton as a fast and inexpensive solutionfor sole practitioners and attorneys with small firms who want to use mobile devices to manage their law practice. The app debuted in 2011, and I discussed the app in August of 2012 and January of 2014. However, the app recently received a major update to version 6.0, when the interface was revised to match the aesthetic of iOS 7 and the upcoming iOS 8. CaseManager is a beautifully designed and useful app for keeping track of all of the key information in your cases: events, tasks, contacts, time and expenses, plus the facts, notes and documents unique to each case.

The basic organization of the app is the same as before, but now in version 6, when you launch the app the first thing you see is the calendar entries for today, so you know immediately what is ahead of you. . . .

In the business of law, it’s extremely important to stay on top of the latest legal developments. With Legal Edge from JD Supra, you can do just that.

Legal Edge allows you to stay up to date with the latest legal news via updates, alerts, and case filings from the nation’s legal professionals. With this app, you’ll receive a daily stream of articles, briefs, and newsletters on all areas of law. It also includes court filings from notable and newsworthy cases.

Through Legal Edge, you can browse information by industry, profession or topic of interest. You can also contact lawyers or firms directly through your iPhone with any comments or questions you may have about certain documents (this feature is only available for documents posted by JD Supra premium account holders).

The app was recently updated to include informative videos and a save/view functionality which allows you to view documents offline. All that is required is an app that supports PDF viewing on your devices (such as iBooks).

You can rest easy knowing that the content on Legal Edge is provided by Amlaw 100 law firms, attorneys, and other legal organizations and professionals.

Currently, Legal Edge is free and is only available for iOS devices. You can download it today from the Apple App Store.

Apple said Monday it was ‘actively investigating’ the violation of several of its iCloud accounts, in which revealing photos and videos of prominent Hollywood actresses were taken and posted all over the Web.

* * *

Security experts said the hacking and theft of revealing pictures from the Apple iCloud accounts of a few celebrities might have been prevented if those affected had enabled two-factor authentication on their accounts.

Apple hasn’t yet said anything definitive about how the attacks were carried out, but security researchers at the security firm FireEye, examined the evidence that has emerged so far, and said it appears to have been a fairly straightforward attack. That said, it is also one that could have been thwarted had some additional steps to secure the targeted accounts been taken.

That additional step is known as two-factor authentication. Apple calls it ‘two-step verification,’ although it doesn’t work very hard to tell people about it, said Darien Kindlund, director of threat research at FireEye.

‘In general Apple has been a little late to the game in offering this kind of protection, and doesn’t advertise it,’ he said. ‘You have to dig through the support articles to find it.’

When enabled, two-factor authentication requires users to enter a numerical code that is sent to their phone or another device, in addition to using their regular password. Since the number constantly changes, it makes it much more difficult for attackers to gain access the account, even if they know the password.

Assuming the compromised accounts were running without the two-step option turned on, it would then have been relatively easy for the attacker to gain access to the accounts.

As The Next Web reported earlier today the attack may be linked to software on GitHub called iBrute that is capable of carrying out automated brute-force attacks against iCloud accounts. In this scenario, an attacker simply guesses a password again and again until they succeed. While tedious and time-consuming for a person, it’s a simple and infinitely faster process for a computer.

The as-yet unknown attacker had one other thing going for him: Apple allows an unlimited number of password guesses. Normally, systems limit the number of times someone can try to log in to a system with an incorrect password before the account is locked down entirely. Apple has since fixed that aspect of the vulnerability.

‘The attackers never should have been allowed to make an unlimited number of guesses,’ Kindlund said. . . . [Emphasis added.]

In June’s WWDC Keynote, Apple introduced their new iOS for mobile devices as well as Yosemite, their new Mac operating system (both of which are due sometime in the fall). One of the most talked about features is the way it will connect your computer and mobile devices. Phone calls and SMS can be pushed to your computer, and with the new ‘handoff’ feature you can pass whatever you’re doing from one device to another.

If you don’t own a mac, or you’re just tired of being left of of the Apple loop and would still like to have similar functionality on your devices, download the free Pushbullet app today.

Pushbullet makes it easy to get files, links, and more from your computer to your phone or vice versa. You can also send information from one mobile device to another (e.g. phone to tablet) and anyone else who uses the app. All it requires is a chrome or firefox plugin for your computer and an active gmail account. Once the plugins are configured, you can use it to push links to your other devices, or go to Pushbullet.com to send files, notes, lists, or addresses.

Android and Windows devices have full use of the app’s abilities, but Apple devices are currently lacking the “notification mirroring” feature that allows you to receive your sms, phone calls, and other app notifications on your computer. While a major bummer, the Pushbullet website mentions that this feature is coming soon!

All other push notifications show up instantly on your desktop or your mobile device, making the Pushbullet app perfect for anyone who wants a seamless way to stay on top of their notifications. Pushbullet is currently available for iOS and android devices. You can download the apps and necessary plugins directly from Pushbullet’s website.

Federal Judge Rules Gmail Account Can Be Accessed For Investigation, by evanino in Evanino Blog

In a landmark ruling that might fuel a nationwide debate, the New York Court issued a warrant against Google, giving access to user emails.

A New York Court issued a warrant against Google Inc ruling that the government can access all mails of a Gmail account of an individual under a money laundering probe. The judge said that courts have long been waiting for law enforcement to take the required documents in the custody if it is within the purview of the warrant.

Contrary to previous rulings

This decision is not in line with the previous court rulings including courts in the Districts of Columbia and Kansas, Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York noted on Friday. Also, this latest ruling will spark a debate over the privacy, in the country, according to Computer World.

A District of Columbia judge denied from revealing the entire content of the email as this will seize a large amount of emails for which the authorities have not given any reason.

The Court in Kansas, also, did not rule in favor of a similar warrant, stating that it failed to ‘limit the universe of electronic communications and information to be turned over to the government to the specific crimes being investigated.’

However, the New York Court ruled in favor of such warrant, allowing authorities to take into account the emails and other information from a Google inc’s Gmail account, including the address book and draft mails, and also the authority to search the emails for certain specific categories of evidence.

Experts must scan emails, not Google employee

Judge Gorenstein argued that it is not possible to search the hard-disk drives of computers and other storage devices on the spot due to the complexities of electronic searches. Thus, the authorities can seize such storage.

‘We perceive no constitutionally significant difference between the searches of hard drives just discussed and searches of email accounts,’ the judge wrote. He added that in most of the cases data in an email account will be less ‘expansive’ compared to the information contained in the hard drive.

Judge Gorenstein stated that Google employees are not expert enough to know the importance of particular emails without having been given proper training in the substance of the investigation. Judge said this in response to an opinion by the District of Columbia court that gave the government the option of getting the email scanned by the host itself.

He said that an agent, who is completely absorbed in the investigation, will be able to understand the importance of a particular language in emails contrary to the employee.